


Beloved

by Amelita



Category: Finder no Hyouteki | Finder Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Falling In Love, Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Muteness, Obsession, Possessive Behavior, Sign Language, Underwater
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-22
Updated: 2014-11-22
Packaged: 2018-02-26 15:18:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2656787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amelita/pseuds/Amelita
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To the ends of the abyss</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ladymoondancer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladymoondancer/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so much to LadyMoonDancer for betaing!

Far Out in the ocean, where the water was as bluer than the sky could ever be and the water was deep, deeper than the tallest building in the world, piled on top of itself many times over, there was life beyond human imagination, both cold and cruel and sweet and beautiful.  Fishes, both large and small, of every shape and size and color glide in the crystalline water, as birds fly in the blue sky above land. And though there was also great beauty to be found, there was also great danger for many predators live in the sea. Just like there are tigers and wolves roaming the land looking for flesh to eat, there were great cruel sharks and hungry barracudas and ravenous eels. And in this place of both great danger and great beauty, there lived a young boy, not a boy with feet or legs but a boy just the same. He was as beautiful a boy as anyone could imagine, his skin was as dear and delicate as a rose-leaf, and his eyes as blue as the deepest sea; but, unlike the little boys that lived on land, this little boy had no feet, and his body ended in a fish's tail. His tail was long and  lovely and shimmering. It caught the light and shined with a blue radiance, as if it were surrounded by the air from above, through which the blue sky shone, instead of the dark depths of the sea. Near the surface, it sparkled like a glittering diamond, catching the sun and reflecting every color of the rainbow. It was easy to see, even from very far away, which is why the bright young boy was not supposed to be near the surface of the water.

But he was on the surface. Again.

Akihito looked around rather guiltily, hunching his slender shoulders up. The boy knew he wasn’t supposed to be there; his grandfather had warned him many, many times that there were far more dangerous predators roaming the surface of the ocean than even those that lived in its depths. The merpeople had long suffered from the predators of the deep and the shallows. In fact, there were very, very few of his kind left. Akihito was well aware of the danger of coming up to the surface. And yet, he just couldn’t stay away. He couldn’t.

He loved the way the hot sun felt on his skin, the way the air smelled, the salty breezes. He came to see the moon and the stars, twinkling far over his head and he came to see the sunsets; that magical moment when the whole sky looked like gold, while violet and rose-coloured clouds streamed overhead. He came to see the birds, so far away and free, calling to one another in the sky. There were many beautiful sights Akihito came to see, but must of all, Akihito came to see HIM. Of all the sights to see on the surface, he was the one Akihito craved most. Akihito never got tired of watching him; a tall young man, with a strong jaw and thick, dark hair that draped over his noble brow. He stood tall with strong arms and broad shoulders. He was so, so very handsome. Akihito never got close enough to see what color his eyes were but he longed to look into them. The dark-haired man was different from the rest of the men in boats. They came with their cruel nets and their sharp hooks, trapping and capturing scores of fish, ripping their flesh from their bones. It horrified Akihito, not because he didn't eat fish but because they took so much more than they could eat and he couldn't understand that. It was so greedy and wasteful. Worst was all the animals that were caught and injured. Akihito had many times dared to free a dolphin caught in their nets but each and every time, he risked his life at the end of a fisherman's spear. They were cruel and Akihito knew they would not hesitate to capture him and kill him too.

But this young man, he was different than the others. He came to the sea, it seemed, just to be there, because he loved it, the way Akihito did. He fished sometimes too, but he only took a few and he never used the nets that hurt so many of the animals in the sea. He came in a small, but beautiful little sailboat. It was a much nicer boat than the others that came, with a bright red hull, long lines and a mermaid at the bow -- made for beauty and speed. Akihito loved watching the skill with which he caught the wind in his white sails. He almost seemed to make his sailboat fly.  Akihito sighed as he watched him from a distance, his strong hands gripping the ropes to bring the boat around. Aki ducked under the water as it came nearer, watched it pass above his head and then popped up again, sometime later. The smile on the man’s handsome face was radiant, his eyes were closed and the black hair was whipping in the wind. If he opened his eyes, he was sure to see Akihito, but the boy simply couldn’t bring himself to care. He was very handsome.

Without warning, those eyes suddenly popped open, as if the young man had suddenly realized he was being watched. They were an intense gold, absolutely gorgeous and focused right on Akihito. Their eyes meet and Aki’s long lashes opened wide. He froze for a moment, and flipped back under the water as quick as he could, his iridescent tail sparkling in the sun.

He gasped in fright, pumping his tail in a downward dive. Had the man seen him? Surely, even if he had, he would think Akihito was some sort of dolphin or other large fish, nothing special of unusual. Akihito swam down, deeper, deeper, and deeper and then looked up and watched with nervous eyes on how the boat approached the spot where he had been, circling and circling it for a long time……

Every single day for a whole week, the boat came back to that spot, without fail and then it would sit there, as if waiting for something. Waiting for him perhaps? Akihito didn’t come to the surface. He was too afraid. If the man HAD seen him, perhaps he was trying to catch him? Eat him? That was after all what humans did with fish. Mermaids ate fish too, upon occasion. But human took loads of fish, whole schools of fish, not just one or two at a time. They would even eat the big fish. Big fish like him. Akihito nibbled his nails nervously watching the boat above. Why did he keep coming back? What did he want? Akihito swam a little closer and squinted at the bottom of the little red boat.

It was leaving, finally, but something about it seemed different today. It wasn’t moving like it normally did, smooth and swift, instead the hull was jaggedly jerking side to side in the water. It seemed as if the man couldn’t keep it going straight, it was like he couldn’t control it. The little blond wondered if the man was alight.

Aki rose to the surface a long way in the distance to see what was the matter. Water stung his pretty blue eyes, the wind was howling around him, whipping his long blond hair into his face. He had only been on the surface a few times when it was like this and he didn't like it at all. The boat was tossed back and forth in the waves violently, which attributed to the funny jerking motion Akihito has seen under the water. The swells surged under Akihito raising him and dropping him in a frightening, dizzying manner. It did the same to the boat. The man was straining just to keep it upright. The sails were down and he seemed to have given up trying to direct it and was just trying at this point to ride out the storm and keep the boat from tipping over. Akihito kept a watchful eye in the distance, hoping that the storm would pass quickly; humans couldn’t breathe in the water and the water coming from overhead was so thick, he worried that perhaps the man couldn't breathe.

The storm was getting worse, the strong winds tossing the little boat violently back and forth, rocking it wildly. The mast bowed low to the water, nearly going over. Akihito gasped and rushed closer, his little hands pulled up to his mouth in horror. The man’s muscular arms were bulging as he pulled the ropes and leaned hard to the other side. His white teeth were clenched as he pulled and strained to balance the boat and keep it from going over. The mast finally started to rise, uprighting itself and Akihito started breathing again. The waves pushed the vessel farther and farther out to sea, away from the land, but Akihito stayed close at hand. The little boy swam back and forth frantically as he watched the waves pounding over the deck, hammering the man and his boat. The storm was getting even worse.

Akihito’s eyes grew wide as an enormous wave approached them. The wave was three times as tall as the boat. It was going to turn it over! Akihito came up out of the water, pointing behind the man, trying to gain his attention and warn him. The moment he saw Aki, the man’s jaw dropped in surprise, but he quickly recognized the horrified expression on the boy’s face and turned to see what the boy was pointing at. He desperately tried to turn the boat, to face it into the oncoming wave rather than take it from the side, but he was too late and the boat crashed over on top of him. Akihito’s hands flew to his mouth in horror and he dived beneath the waves, searching in the dark. There were wreckage drifting everywhere and things that had come loose from the boat falling all around him.

His heart was racing in his chest and he searched and finally he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

It was the man, he was struggling, caught, twisted in the ropes, his legs trapped in the rigging of the boat. Akihito didn’t stop to think about the consequences. He darted to him, hesitating just a moment as the man’s eyes fixed on him. Time stopped for both of them. Each gazed at the other in awe. The man’s golden eyes burned in the dark, his dark hair drifting in the sea, his strong jaw gasping open. A few bubbles escaped from his lips and Akihito knew what he needed. He bridged the gap carefully, hesitantly, coming closer and closer until they were nose to nose. He tentatively pressed his palms to the sides of the man’s handsome face and leaned in, pushing his lips against the man’s in a sweet kiss. The man jerked from him and gasped again. More air was escaping and Akihito knew that was bad. The man needed that air. Akihito pushed his lips against the man’s, _hard_ , trying to force his mouth open with his tongue. The large man yielded to him and Akihito sealed their mouths together, forcing air from his own lungs into the man’s. The man took it, drawing deeply every drop of air from Akihito. That was alright. Aki didn’t need it, he could breath with his lungs or his gills. He drew back. The man’s golden eyes looked stunned, but his lips weren’t quite so blue. They were narrowed on Akihito as the boy moved down his body, searching for the ropes that held him bound. The movement of the boat as it bounced in the waves had drawn the ropes tight around his limbs. He knew it must be hurting the man terribly. Akihito pulled uselessly on the ropes with his delicate hands. It was no use, they were too tight. He looked up at the man, his blue eyes wide with terror. Air was escaping the man’s lungs again and there was nothing to take its place. He couldn't breathe!

Akihito knew he had to get more air. He squeezed the man’s hand to let him know he wasn’t leaving him before darting to the surface again. His long beautiful tail glimmering in the dark before the man’s wide eyes. Akihito inhaled deeply, gulping through his mouth and filling his lungs with air, careful to avoid the overturned boated as it was wildly tossed by the waves. He dove back underneath with his long silken hair streaming out behind him. The man’s body mimicked the movement of the boat, he was jerked to and fro and Akihito clung to him, pressing against him. Thick, muscular arms came up to hold his own slender waist tightly as they pressed their lips together again. This time the man’s hungry lips eagerly sealed to his and Akihito pushed the air into his lungs again. His curious fingers traced the thick muscles of his neck and shoulders. The man’s body was so different from his own. When there was nothing left to give, Akihito pulled back again and began working his way down the man’s body again. He clung to him as the large body was tossed back and forth like a ragdoll, the fury of the storm still raging even under the water. He reached into the little pouch he kept at his waist. He was always finding things, collecting things to take home with him. He loved things from the human world. He had a sharp piece of green glass that he had picked up earlier. It hadn’t been worn smooth by the sea yet and it might work ….

He grabbed it and tried to rub it against the ropes holding the other man trapped. Slowly, the threads began to cut, loosening the ropes bit by bit, but it wasn’t fast enough. Akihito rose the surface again, returning with the precious life-giving air the other man needed so much. His eyes were closing and Akihito shook him, grabbing him under the chin and pressing them together. His golden eyes snapped opened and he reached for Aki, large hands tangled in the long blond hair this time as he breathed in and Akihito breathed out. He did it again and again, slowly working the rope free in between trips until finally… finally it gave way and Akihito grabbed him under the arms, propelling both of them to the surface with his strong tail.

The man coughed up water and gasped for air as the little boy struggled to keep his head above water. He was much bigger than Akihito and so very heavy. The boy looked frantically around him, the wind and rain fierce and stinging in his eyes. Which way was land…. which way? He wasn’t sure, the storm had turned him all about. He grabbed a piece of floating wreckage and pressed it to the man, nodding his head to indicate he should grab onto it. Golden eyes looked at him wildly and Akihito squeezed the other man’s rough calloused hand again to indicate he would be back, as he had done so many times before under the water and then dove down.

Akihito needed a landmark, something to orient himself so he would know which way to go. He activated his bioluminescence; his scales and hair beginning to glow brightly in the dark so he could see the ocean floor beneath him. He recognized the trench below him and the large rocks. He knew which way to go now. He turned and headed back the surface, letting the bright glow fade. It wasn’t completely gone when he broke the water again. He looked like a beautiful, radiant angel, rising from the depths of the black sea. The man gaped at him, nearly losing his hold on the piece of wreckage he was clinging to.

Akihito tossed him the end of a piece of rope he had grabbed on his way back up. The man grabbed ahold of it with both hands and watched as Akihito tied it around his narrow waist, just above where his tail started. He began to swim, his strong tail pushing them through the water at an incredible pace, away from the wreckage and towards the safety of land.

It was hard work; the man was so very heavy and dragging the awkward bulky shape and additional weight through the water was very difficult. It took all the strength the small boy had. Several times he stopped and swam back to the man. He would grab hold of the wreckage and rest, laying his own golden head down on the planks the man clung to and panting for breath, unable to get enough oxygen in through his gills to support the strenuous activity. The man’s strong fingers weaved their way through his silky hair and stroked his temples and cheek in thanks. Akihito smiled back. Their eyes met and Akihito felt a strange feeling of warmth in his tummy. He felt renewed strength coming back into his tired body. He would take him to shore. He could do it. Aki impulsively pressed forward and kissed the tip of his nose. He laughed, liking how the man’s golden eyes opened wide in surprise and then he dove back into the water, his silver-blue tail twinkling in the moonlight light. It was an hour, maybe two, before they reached the shoreline. The man was exhausted, he had kicked hard, trying to help Akihito as much as he could. He was barely able to push himself to the beach and Akihito helped, dragging him as best as he was able to until the large man lay on his back out of the water and Akihito lay on his belly in the sand. The gentle waves lapping at them. They both collapsed, panting and breathing hard.

The storm was in the distance, and Akihito could still hear the rolling thunder, but it had left the land far behind. The moon had come out and they could see each other clearly now. He gasped as he realized the other man had pushed himself up on his elbow and was looking intently at Akihito’s long shimmering tail, the curve of his bottom and where the silver scales met the pale creamy skin of his lower back. The man leaned over and ran a large warm hand over it, gently touching him, exploring texture of the skin and the glittering scales. Aki shivered from the sensation, trembling. Never before had he realized how very sensitive his tail was. The man’s hand was so hot. He had never felt anything so warm, except maybe the sun. He leaned over Aki, gently lifting him by the waist and placing him onto his back, his hair spreading around him in the soft sand. He loomed over Akihito and Aki only just now realized how much larger the other man actually was. He marveled at how broad his shoulders were and how strong his arms were. The man buried his nose in Akihito’s neck and inhaled deeply. Aki wondered what he was doing when suddenly he pulled back, moving up. Those golden eyes came closer and closer and Akihito’s lashes fluttered closed as he kissed him. This kiss was different from those Akihito had given him under the water. Gone was the frantic fear and the man’s tongue explored his mouth with agonizing slowness, pressing in and drawing out until Akihito was panting in desire.

The man pulled back and looked at Akihito fiercely, intensely. He brushed his hand of the curve of Akihito's cheek and the boy leaned into the warmth as he said a word that Aki didn’t understand.

“Beloved”

Akihito shook his head in confusion, he had never heard the fishermen say that word. His knowledge of the human’s spoken language was very limited and his understanding of the strange noises; even less. The man’s lips pressed against his again, this time they were fierce and demanding, his tongue stroking in the warm hot depths of Akihito's mouth. His large warm hands ran down Akihito’s chest, playing with his nipples until he gasped in pleasure and his back arched. The other man grinned. His teeth were white, his smile beautiful and Akihito couldn’t help but smile back at him.

Suddenly the stillness of the night was pierced by shouts of men. He could feel the tremors of their footsteps on the sand and it sent a bolt of terror through him. Bloody fish hooks and filleted carcasses slipped into his mind. Akihito’s eyes flew wide and he tore himself out from underneath the other man, using his long tail to launch himself back into the safety of the water. He almost sighed in relief as he felt the familiar weight and safety of it close over his head. He swam fast and away, only stopping for a moment to pop back out and look back at the man. He was standing up to his knees in the water, as if he had run after Akihito. He was standing there searching the dark water around him with his golden eyes. Aki raised a pale slender hand to wave goodbye. The man’s eyes caught the movement and he moved deeper into the waves, as if trying to come after Aki. He was saying something, calling to him but Akihito couldn’t understand the words.

Akihito disappeared into the deep as a large group of men came over the sand dunes behind him, with dogs and flashlights, but the man stayed there, his face turned to the sea, his eyes searching for the boy who had disappeared into the waves. 

 

-


	2. Chapter 2

_10 years later_

Asami reviewed the reports on his desk with an air of detachment, shuffled through stacks of paper until he found the one he was looking for. It was in a plain binder emblazoned with the words _Highly Classified_. He leaned forward with interest as he opened it and his golden eyes fixed intently on the thick report in his hands. It was an update on the Sion corporation’s underseas exploration, codename: Project Abyss. It was Asami’s pet project. When he had assumed control of the company after his father’s passing eight years ago, he had resurrected an old division of research and development and dedicated it completely to exploring the oceans of the world.

Seventy percent of the earth was covered in water, more than half of all life existed under the sea and yet ninetyfive percent of that space had been explored by men. Only a tiny fraction of the species that existed had been discovered. The majority of those as yet undiscovered species lived in the deep sea, known as the abyss, where men were simply unable to go.

But not for long.

For the past eight years, Asami and his team of engineers had been developing new ways of exploring the deep. The billionaire had spared no expense. The newest submersible his team had designed was the most advanced in the world. Although it was unmanned, it will allow record dives to the deepest depths yet. Previously they had been limited to fifteen thousand feet, but the new one would allow dives of nearly twenty five thousand feet.

Every day, every new discovery and every new technological advancement brought Asami closer to his goal. Closer to the day he would find his beloved again. Nothing could keep them apart forever, not even the abyss. Asami’s eyes closed and he smiled, his mind going back in time as he remembered. He remembered every flickered expression that had crossed his beautiful face; the fear, the exhaustion, the joy, the arousal..... He remebered his cornflower blue eyes, his petal soft lips and the way his velvet skin had felt under his palms. He remembered the taste of salt on his skin. Asami had treasured his beloved's memory like a cherished photograph, closing his eyes and reliving it over and over again. Even still, each precious memory was as new and fresh as if it had happened the day before. From that day forward there had been no one for Asami Ryuichi. No one other than his beloved would do.

Asami was well pleased with the successful trial run of the new submersable but it was nothing compared to the elation he would feel a short three months later when an old merchant ship from the Song dynasty was found on the ocean floor at twenty two thousand feet. It was an incredible discovery for Project Abyss. It was a major coup, bringing recognition to the Sion corporation's underwater achievements and made for excellent publicity for the company. Asami generously gave the newspapers access to almost all of their findings; all the video recordings and all the photographs that had been taken by the new submersible.

Almost all of them.

There were just a few that Asami kept to himself. They had only been seen by himself and the man who operated the submersible. Asami had given him a good reason to keep his mouth shut, grinding his gun painfully against his temple and holding up pictures of his young children. He also made sure that a longstanding history of mental illness founds its way into his medical records. Should he decide to say something even after the threat; he would be immediately discredited. No one would have believed him anyway, it was simply too fanciful, to fantastic to be believed.

The handsome billionaire sat in his office at home, studying the pictures for the tenth, the twentieth, the hundredth time.

The moment he put them down, he was compelled to pick them back up again.

He couldn’t stop staring at them. He put them down and then drew another breath. Perhaps just once more and then he would be satisfied. He went through them again, slowly, relishing every nuance. They were blurry and black and white with shades of greenish blue, but the small shape in the background was easy to make out. It was the body of a slender boy with a long silver tail and wide, curious eyes. The photographs showed him coming closer and looking curiously at the camera until the flash went off and then he hid. His tail flicked out of the corner of the last in the series.

Asami laid them down with only the slightest tremble of his hand. He stood and walked to the adjacent wall of his home office. It was floor to ceiling glass and behind it was the largest privately owned aquarium in all of Japan. He clasped his hands behind his back and watched the fish slowly swimming past. They were beautiful fish, all the colors of the rainbow with scales of crimson and emerald and shimmering gold, but they were not the reason he had built the tank. It had been built with one single occupant in mind, a tiny boy with a long shimmering tail that Asami had lost over a decade ago, loved just as long, and now had finally found.

Yes, Asami Ryuichi was well pleased indeed.

-

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